Avalon II The Quest For The Grail is a 5 reel 243 ways to win video slot powered by Microgaming. This game is the sequel to the popular Avalon slot but has been transformed into a blockbuster game in every sense. It has a medieval theme and feels like Lord of the Rings to some extent. Based on the legendary tale of good versus evil, you need to help Arthur retrieve the grail and restore it to Avalon. You can play from as little as 30p to as much as £7.50 a spin.
Avalon II is sure to become an instant classic with lots of bonus features. In the base game, you have 2 randomly triggered features. First up, you have the Merlin feature where the character appears randomly. It can award a random cash prize or multiplier. On a non winning spin, Merlin can award ranging from 4x to 20x your total stake. On a winning spin, Merlin can award between a 2x and 4x multiplier to your win. Then there’s the Expanding Wild feature which appears on the middle reel.
However, Avalon II is all about the Grail Bonus feature which has 8 bonus games within. You can trigger the Grail Bonus feature when you get 3 or more Grail symbols anywhere on the reels. You will go on a journey through the Kingdom on your quest to retrieve the Grail and return it to Avalon. Triggering the Grail Bonus feature a certain number of times triggers subsequent bonus games.
First up you have the Lake of Legend Bonus feature which is a dice roll bonus game. You need to try and complete Excalibur by reforging the sword fragments. The dice will reveal a number associated with a sword fragment number. If there’s a match, the sword fragment with the matching dice number moves into the reforge display. The number you get is equal to the multiplier paid out (i.e. a 6 will give you 6 times your stake. You have 10 dice rolls in total and if you reforge Excalibur, you will win 15 times your stake on top of your previous wins (along with 6x your stake for any remaining dice rolls).
The second is the Misty Value Bonus feature where you choose your wild. You will receive 15 free spins with a 1x multiplier. You get to choose 1 of the high end symbols to act like an extra wild for the duration of the feature – the extra wild has a 2x wild multiplier. Once you’ve played the first 2 features, you will get to choose between the 3rd and 4th bonus features – these are described below.
The third is the Whispering Woods Bonus feature where you 1pick from 5 options –you will pick 1 shield and hope to get the highest multiplier. The multipliers available start at 10 times your stake and go up to a massive 160 times your stake if you’re lucky.
The fourth is the Forest Falls Bonus feature where you will receive 20 free spins with a 1x multiplier. Look out for the Avalon II wild as this is the Trailing Wild. When one of these wilds lands on row 1 or 2 of any of the reels, it will hold in place and expand downwards – it will then hold for 1 spin.
The fifth is the Dusky Moors Bonus feature where you will see 12 items on the screen. You need to match 2 helms of the same type and will continue picking until this happens. Each helm has a multiplier ranging from 6x to 20x. Every non-matching pick increase the multiplier from 2x to 8x.
The sixth is the Morgan’s Keep Bonus feature where you get 20 free spins with a 2x multiplier. Rolling Reels apply here meaning that every consecutive win will increase the multiplier from 2x to 3x to 4x to 5x to 6x. This means you can get a 6x multiplier on every single free spin if you’re lucky.
The seventh is the Hall of Shadows Bonus feature where each move you carry out gives you a cash prize. If you successfully block or attack, the size of the cash prize varies. You choose the best moves to either block or attack the Black Knight and hopefully retrieve the Grail.
Finally, you have the Isle of Avalon Bonus feature where you spin the wheels to win the highest bonus multiplier. You have 4 wheels in total but you can only unlock the 4th wheel if you get a zero on the 3rd wheel. The numbers won on each wheel will form the multiplier award.
There’s a lot to take in above but you will soon see how simple it is when you start playing it. The epic story of Avalon II does evoke emotion and intrigue and reminds me of Immortal Romance to some extent. I found the game to be a medium variance slot with the bigger wins coming in the Free Spins features. There’s a whopping £121,500 to be won per spin playing at £7.50 a spin meaning that the maximum win per spin is an amazing 16,200 your stake. In terms of the bonus features, I really liked the Forest Falls Bonus feature as the trailing wilds can really give you huge wins if you get a few of them on a few of the free spins.
Avalon II is surely going to become a huge hit with slot players and I for one can’t get enough of it at the moment. Microgaming have been guilty of producing sub-standard slots in 2013 (in my opinion) so this is a huge step in the right direction.
